SPEECH OF INTERIM CHIEF MINISTER AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM ON TRAINING WITH ORIENTATION FOR NEWLY-ELECTED

LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVES (LCE) IN THE REGION

Published June 17, 2019
https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/speech/speech-of-interim-chief-minister-al-haj-murad-ebrahim-on-training-with-orientation-for-
newly-elected-local-chief-executives-lce-in-the-region/

On the last day of this month, you — the local chief executives and other
elected officials — will formally assume office to commence a new term of
three years of public service.

We, in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, have just preceded you in public
service for just four months. It can be said that we are actually
contemporaneous in trying to discharge our respective mandates.

In any big task, it is always good to prepare. This Training cum Orientation
may no longer be new to many of you. But we are now under a new
autonomous government, the BARMM or Bangsamoro Government, with a
new leadership, new direction, and new law.

The implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law or BOL, and

establishment of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority or the Bangsamoro
Government, present new challenges to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and
the Bangsamoro as a whole.

But alongside these challenges are the opportunities that we have now that we
are given a more ample room to exercise our right to self-determination within
the framework of the Philippine Constitution.

It is narrated in the hadiths that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has once

dispatched an army to the battlefront. Upon their successful return, he said:
 SPEECH OF INTERIM CHIEF MINISTER AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM ON TRAINING WITH ORIENTATION FOR NEWLY-ELECTED
LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVES (LCE) IN THE REGION
Published June 17, 2019
https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/speech/speech-of-interim-chief-minister-al-haj-murad-ebrahim-on-training-with-orientation-for-
newly-elected-local-chief-executives-lce-in-the-region/

’Blessed are those who have performed the minor jihad and have yet to
perform the major jihad.’ When asked, ‘What is the major jihad?’ the Prophet
replied: ‘The jihad of the self (struggle against self).’

I am confident that with the signing of the BOL and its subsequent
ratification, we – the Bangsamoro- have won the minor jihad. Now, we are
onto the more difficult jihad as we take the helm of the regional leadership.
We are placed in a totally different battlefield. We confront entirely different
challenges. Foremost of which are the realities of traditional politics in the
country and the ailments that have long afflicted Philippine bureaucracy –
graft and corruption, red tape, bribery, and influence peddling.

Out in the battlefront, it is easy to identify your enemy – anyone who is

fighting for a cause that is different or contrary to what you are fighting for is
the enemy. Your goal is to neutralize the enemy.

How do we tackle much less identify our new enemy right now? It takes
various forms. It could be anyone including ourself. And it may not be always
hostile to our own interest. But it is nonetheless harmful to ourself and to the
people we pledge to serve and protect.

The struggle against self is indeed difficult and full of complexities. It is the
major jihad for all of us.

In all its years of fighting for the right of the Bangsamoro to self-
determination, the MILF has always turned to Islam for guidance. Our
ultimate goal is to serve Allah (SWT) and to protect and advance the welfare
of the ummah.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Bangsamoro Government wishes to apply the

same Islamic principles and teachings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in
governing the region and leading our people to peace and prosperity.

It is good governance in the perspective of Islam or moral governance. Our

people deserve nothing less.

I commend the Ministry of Local Government headed by Atty. Naguib

Sinarimbo for spearheading this activity and all of you here for your
participation and cooperation. The duty to address the various socio-economic
challenges in the Bangsamoro region does not rest solely in the hands of the
regional government. We cannot do it alone.

I hope this activity will not only capacitate you to better perform as local
government officials but also align our efforts and help advance the
Bangsamoro development agenda.

The Bangsamoro Government is counting on your support in the Local

Government Units in giving life to the Bangsamoro Organic Law and the
aspirations of the Bangsamoro.
 SPEECH OF INTERIM CHIEF MINISTER AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM ON TRAINING WITH ORIENTATION FOR NEWLY-ELECTED
LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVES (LCE) IN THE REGION
Published June 17, 2019
https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/speech/speech-of-interim-chief-minister-al-haj-murad-ebrahim-on-training-with-orientation-for-
newly-elected-local-chief-executives-lce-in-the-region/

I have always emphasized that you in the LGUs are in the frontline of public
service. You are the faces of government. I truly understand that much as you
want to perform all your duties and responsibilities, resources are simply very
small compared to the needs and wants of your constituencies.

I also know that majority of municipalities are either 3rd or 4th class category.

On the part of the Bangsamoro Government, we will support you as far as the
resources of the autonomous government can be able to provide. Let us be
partners in public service, of instituting good governance, and on a higher
plane, of moral governance.

Lastly, I congratulate all of you for gaining the trust of your constituents in the
last election. I am one with you in trying to live up to the trust reposed on our
shoulders.

Thank you again for responding positively to this event.